Compass Hackathon 2022: The Race for a Sustainable Food Supply Chain
Five US Teams, One Goal
Rome wasn’t built in a day, but the right teams can create some amazing plans in 24 hours. The teams at Compass and Foodbuy learned that first-hand last week while participating in the Compass Hackathon 2022. Several groups of business, data analytics, and tech professionals from various sectors came together on Tuesday and Wednesday in a race to create projects focused on building a sustainable food supply chain.
“I am hugely excited by our innovation capability and the hackathon exemplified the tremendous talent we have working day in and day out at Compass and Foodbuy. I look forward to seeing the winning hackathon solutions evolve into products we will offer our clients and consumers.” – Dominic Blakemore, Compass Group Chief Executive Officer
This inaugural challenge was part of the Compass Global Leadership Conference held in London, England. As our leadership teams from across nations convened, this event gave teams in three cities: Charlotte, Paris, and Bangalore, the chance to get involved in friendly competition.
US Hackathon judges watch a virtual presentation
Getting Down to the Details
In a race against time and participants across the globe, our five US teams met in-person and online to discuss their response to the question, “how might we collect and analyze supplier-specific data to evaluate the carbon impact on the planet?”
The Compass and Foodbuy teams were tasked with creating a pitch deck, three-minute presentation, and visual demonstration of their solution by 6:30 am Wednesday. From collecting data to coding dashboards, the groups were made up of members with a variety of strengths and professional backgrounds. United by a passion for innovation and a dedication to sustainability, each team created a solution that met the criteria of feasibility, capability, desirability, and impact.
After hours of work, the US teams presented their work to our panel of judges: Melissa Gress, VP of Member Experience, Josh Bucy, SVP of Member Experience, Jeff Henry, SVP of Technology Shared Services, and Jason Marriott, SVP of Foodbuy Finance. The winners were Team 5, made up of:
Brendon Wood
Zack McIntosh
Scott Corley
Mo Camara
Sam Engel
Laura Armstrong
Paulo Beroy
Finally, at 9 am Wednesday, the global check in connected US teams with their counterparts in Paris, France and Bangalore, India.
Compass Hackathon 2022 winning team
Putting Sustainability First at Compass and Foodbuy
“This hackathon demonstrated the terrific value of a diverse team coming together for a short time frame and being laser focused on solving a problem. The results will help to shape our digital expertise around sustainability.” – Shelley Roberts, Compass Group Chief Commercial Officer
This year’s focus on building a sustainable food supply chain is no surprise when considering Compass Group’s dedication to sustainability. One of the company’s top goals is to reach net zero carbon emissions by 2050. This commitment is backed by science-based targets and part of a larger dedication to corporate responsibility.
The Compass Hackathon theme perfectly aligned with this focus, providing 24 hours of focus on a specific problem facing the industry: carbon emissions. Events like this one allow our Compass and Foodbuy associates to strengthen connections and explore solutions to big issues within a productive space. Interested in learning more about Foodbuy? Visit our About page now.